2011 Sony Ericsson open: Robert Farah, Paul Capdeville advance to the second round of qualifier
Robert Farah downs Illya Marchenko 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
World number 187 Robert Farah of Columbia defeated world number 99 Illya Marchenko of Ukraine in three sets 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the qualifying draw at the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday.
Farah did not have a good start to the match; getting broken three times in the opening set he lost 1-6. He did not serve very well as he hit 2 double faults in the first set. However, his opponent was good with his serves as he
hit 71 per cent of the first serves, winning a whopping 90 per cent of the points on them.
After losing the first set miserably, Farah reduced his service errors in the second set. He broke Marchenko three times in the second set, winning it 6-3.
The Columbian delivered 71 per cent of the first serves and converted 60 per cent of them into points. The 24-year-old saved 1 of the 2 break points he faced in the second set. On the other hand, Marchenko could save just 3 of
the 6 break points he faced in the second set.
The third set saw both players breaking each other’s serve on number of occasions. However, Farah made the decisive break in the ninth game to win the final set 6-3. The match lasted for 2 hours and 7 minutes.
The Columbian will face world number 114 Marsel Ilhan of Turkey in the second round. The Turkish defeated Matthew Ebden of Australia 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
Paul Capdeville defeats Alejandro Falla 7-5, 7-6
Paul Capdeville of Chile ousted Alejandro Falla of Columbia in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 to reach the second round of the qualifying draw. The Chilean took 1 hour and 50 minutes to beat his opponent.
Capdeville broke Falla in the 11th game of the first set and served it out at 6-5. He hit 2 aces and 55 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. The right handed converted 2 of the 9 break points he received
in the first set.
Falla and Capdeville broke each other 3 times in the first 12 games of the second set, taking it to a tie-break. The Chilean claimed the mini-break in the tie-break to win it 7-5.
The 27-year-old hit 2 aces and 3 double faults in the second set. He delivered 67 per cent of the first serves in the second set, winning 59 per cent of the points on them.
Capdeville is drawn to meet world number 113 Bjorn Phau of Germany in the second round. Phau beat world number 162 Igor Sijsling of Netherlands in three sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.
Tags: